Tell Me About Your First Kiss
by BonesBird
Summary: Family time brings about questions from Serena, and confessions from Jon. (Set 2170)


**And another one moved over from AO3. Set in the post-Romulan War universe in 2170. Serena is 8, and Henry is 3.**

**Happy Birthday Ada Maris! The truly beautiful woman who brought Erika to life on our screens was 57 today.**

**Shin xx**

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Some questions were the strangest when asked by your children, but somehow, this time it seemed perfectly acceptable for him to answer it. He wasn't much for talking about his and Erika's relationship.  
They were both public figures, and really talking publicly about their life together was frowned upon, probably more than a little unsurprisingly. They had been the couple that had challenged Starfleet's policy on ranks intermingling, and now while it didn't matter, he was no longer in Starfleet service, and she was the most senior human Starfleet officer on Andoria, not necessarily a difficult feat, but she was the third most senior on the planet too.

They had still shied away from speaking about their relationship in public. In private, they were like any other family, though maybe he and Erika were more or less the way they always had been. But somehow, he knew it had been coming when Serena got that serious look on her face. For an 8 year old, she could look surprisingly inquisitive, and he'd just known that she had a question about how her parents had gotten together.

"Daddy."

"What's up Rena?" He asked, letting Serena climb up on the sofa next to him and shaking his head as she crossed her arms and fixed him with a stare, looking more like her mother than he'd thought possible.

"I was talking to Tosh earlier."

"Right?" He asked, there wasn't always going to be a good thing come out of a conversation with his 11 year old goddaughter. Though she and Serena had been best friends almost as long as Serena had been able to talk, sometimes there was a moment where they forgot that Serena was younger than Tosh. Three years younger, to be exact.

"She said that aunt Hoshi always said that if anyone needed proof people belonged together they only needed to look at you and mommy."

"OK?" He asked, not really sure if Serena had a question or was just trying to tell him what Hoshi was saying about him. He didn't really have an issue with that statement, it was one that was made regularly about them. But clearly, something was bugging the 8 year old.

"What did she mean?" Rena asked a second later, looking at him seriously.

"Well, your mom and I have been together a long time." He said, fairly sure that wouldn't be enough for Serena when she was in a questioning mood.

"That can't be it though, I mean, aunt Hoshi and uncle Trip have been too."

"Your mom and I were together through some really big things, and we got back together after we'd been apart for a while." He admitted, he hadn't really wanted to admit to the kids that he and Erika hadn't always been able to make things work, but that was the truth, and hiding it from them probably wasn't such a good idea either. He made a mental note to have a word with Hoshi about it all before he forgot what had started this conversation.

"Why weren't you together?" Serena asked, and Jon tried to think of how to explain to her the complex rules and situations that led to why he and Erika had put a stop to things the first time they'd been together.

"Because daddy was an idiot and put his career first for a while and left your mom behind." He said as truthfully as he could, there was no denying that was what happened, though Erika had told him that was what he needed to do, and made him promise that he wouldn't think about her when he made his decision. Which had been a harder thing for him to do back then, when he had finally gained everything he'd ever wanted with her.

"He doesn't regret doing that though, Rena, don't listen to him." Erika said as she came through the door, Henry dropping his coat and gloves as he followed her.

"Hey, you're home." He smiled as Erika joined them on the sofa, Henry running over and jumping on his knee. "I don't regret it, your right. But I am glad we're all here together, now. We broke up for four years the first time, and I never told her before but I missed her every day." He smiled, giving Henry a gentle squeeze and almost laughing when he made a yipping noise in response. He looked up to Erika a second later, wondering what her reaction would be to that piece of trivia.

"You did?" Erika asked quietly, meeting his eyes fully for the first time since she'd sat down. It didn't matter to him that Serena and Henry were witnessing this moment, how had he let so long pass without telling her these things, these important things.

"I did. Some days I didn't mention it, or think about it, but you were still there in the back of my mind." He kept his eyes locked on Erika's, aware of the kids still sat on their knees, but being more interested in the look on his wife's face.

"Henry, run away, they are going to get really icky." Serena said, slipping off the sofa and running for the direction of the playroom. Henry following her in his toddler way a minute later. Jon watched them both go, then turned his attention back to his wife, almost certain that the kids would give them a few minutes alone now.

"Did you mean it, Jonathan?" Erika asked, clearly thinking that he had been spinning a tale for their children. Did she really think he hadn't spent four years wishing he had her back in his life. Because he'd hoped over the last 16 years he'd proven to her more that he had, the whole time. Since they'd met he'd been drawn to her, that was the way it was.

"That I missed you? Absolutely. Trip used to give me a hard time about it, it was one of his favourite things. He was almost as happy as we were when I told him we were back together. I haven't regretted anything we've done though, not even for a day." He grinned at her as she narrowed her eyes at him, then shook her head. He kept watching her for a second, then as soon as he could he kissed her hard. In the 30 years they had known one another, he really didn't regret a thing they'd done, and he had no reason too. Somehow, he had found his way through everything, and had gained his family from it. He could have, and probably should have, never deserved Erika in his life, but she had chosen to settle with him, despite all the idiotic moves he had made in the three decades they'd known each other. So he had no reasons to complain.


End file.
